Last Friday, I closed out the work week with an awesome 6 mile run along a tow path near my office. I enjoyed it so much I decided to do it again last night. 7 miles of the most beautiful and fragrant scenery…

you know me and my honeysuckles….

My favorite view of the eve

I stopped a ton to take pics and kept it fairly slow and easy. As usual, it really boosted my mood.

The ivy and “fuzzy” looking stuff on this tree made me feel like I was in a fairy tale jungle

cutest little cottage near the rose garden

Ironically I stopped at these flowers that are called “carefree spirit” :)

I almost don’t want to ever run on the streets of my neighborhood anymore because it just doesn’t compare.

tried to get a running shadow.

seriously…the reflection of the trees in the water….so beautiful.

That’s me….always a little off-centered

Boom, long run done and stress sweated out.

I stopped at Dunkin Donuts for a refreshing iced coffee to re-hydrate and then I relaxed the rest of the night with my boy staring at me.

You were gone so long i’m just gonna stare at you so you won’t have the heart to leave me again

This morning I took the doodle to the vet for some regularly shots and checkup and he got a clean bill of health. Now he’s “reclining”.

Sweating out the small stuff and solitude with the ‘suckles

Happy Saturday!

I had a week with a whole lotta ups and downs. I knew all week that I was going to run after work on Friday at that park (Colonial Park) near my office that I discovered the first week I worked. But I didn’t expect to run more than 3 miles. I ended up running 10K because I was enjoying the solitude and those honeysuckles so much.

Honeysuckles!

I wanted to run on the DnR (Delaware and Raritan) Canal Tow Path that both Mr. SOTSS and Meesh mentioned. I didn’t find the entrance right away so I ended up running along a couple of roads with absolutely no sidewalk or shoulder. It was stressful and I had to stop and literally jump into the woods to avoid getting hit by a car a few times. Then I ended up on a quiet block when all of a sudden a dog ran out to the front of his yard and then toward me. He was not on a leash. Holy F! I was scared out of my mind. I just turned in the opposite direction and ran super fast and sure enough after a few minutes I stumbled upon one of the entrances to the tow path! Thank god.

Finally found an entrance

Hi!

It was smooth sailing after that and about 3 miles in is where I saw that there was a connection to the park via a cute little bridge. SO MUCH SAFER! HA! I cannot wait to run a bunch more times along this tow path every Friday.

When self timer shots go wrong

I cannot tell you how much I needed that hour + of time alone. I’ve been struggling to be heard lately and It’s been making me feel pretty crappy. And sometimes, because I’m so super open and honest with how I feel it makes people uncomfortable and defensive. I’ll just keep it at that. 😉 I loved the tow path because other than maybe a couple of bike riders and one or two other runners it was literally all mine! I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of my feet striking the ground.

With each stride I felt more and more Zen. I saw a few chipmunks and a deer too. I think I could have run 10 or more miles but I had to get home to Duncan.

There are over 70 miles to cover

When my run was over I celebrated with my free donut that I got earlier in the day.

#NationalDonutDay

Dunkin Donuts was giving out a free donut with beverage purchase because yesterday was National Donut Day. And then I returned my beloved running car magnets to “Forest” now that he’s back from the autobody shop.

I came home to my doodles and just chilled out for the rest of the night.

Did you say it’s Friday?!

His before and after from his latest grooming. I love his versatile looks :)

Random doodling during a meeting at work

OK I better go be productive now. It’s already after 10am and I’ve been up since 7am doing nothing but watching TV and blogging….

Global Running Day

Before I jump to today I’ll tell you about the rest of my weekend. It was swell! (I used to love the word swell. I think it’s time to bring it back. Isn’t that swell?)

Last we left off I told you all about the Spring Lake 5 on Saturday. Sunday I joined Mr. SOTSS and his 2 girls for a fun night in Point Pleasant (the Jersey Shore) for strolling the boardwalk, playing mini-golf and other fun amusement games.

I don’t really know what my face is all about. I must have been thinking about whether to get ice cream or funnel cake afterward. Serious decisions.

Mr. SOTSS and his lil girl. Makes my heart swell to see the love they have for each other.

There’s a game where you throw darts at balloons. K, the almost 11-year old is a ringer! She won herself a smiley emoji pillow. I really wanted the poop emoji pillow so they all played again and won me the pillow. YAY!

Poop…there it is!

I love spending time with those girls. It brings me back to when life was simple. No worries about work or life stresses.

I was on a date with Mr. SOTSS the first summer we dated and saw this bench and loved the saying. So on Sunday I took another pic to have the side by side memory.

This was before I got a hole-in-one! Oh and while I was the only one with a true hole-in-one, Mr. SOTSS’ oldest had an epic hole-in-three. After 2 attempts where the ball went off the putting green she finally swung a third time and the ball hit about 30 different objects before landing right in the hole.

Smiley face out of mini-golf equipment

Another weird face on me.

They are a breath of fresh air to be around. Just being silly and laughing…pretty much my favorite way to live. I really needed it because this morning I woke up with finger nail marks in my hands. I was so tense I must have slept with my hands clenched in fists.

stress isn’t swell. I need to run more! (and cut my long nails i suppose)

I’m working remotely for the morning and will drive into work after lunch because Duncan had a grooming appointment. It worked out well because I worked late last night, came home in a bad mood and pretty much just went to bed. So I made up for it, starting my day at the park for a walk with Duncan.

He was so happy to jump in the car this morning

The honeysuckles are in full bloom and smell so delicious.

Walking with the dood and caffeinating

they smell swell!

They really lift my spirits. Most flowers don’t smell fragrant to me but honeysuckles are like freshly ground coffee beans….I could inhale that aroma ALL DAY! After the walk in the park I went running for 3 miles to celebrate #GlobalRunningDay. I was FAST! I think I really had a lot of frustrations to sweat out from last night. Plus I knew I had to get back in time to get Duncan to the groomer.